Apparatus for cooling a steel member while being rolled on a continuous hot-rolling mill

ABSTRACT

A spray unit positioned between roll stands in the path of a steel workpiece advancing in a predetermined substantially horizontal pass line in a continuous hot-rolling mill, includes a pair or spaced spray chambers longitudinally aligned in tandem. The steel workpiece passes through a spray section in each of the spray chambers. As the steel workpiece passes through the spray sections, water is sprayed by high pressure nozzles onto the entire surface of the steel workpiece to reduce the temperature thereof. Guard means are provided to prevent damage to the high pressure nozzles. The steel workpiece is aligned axially in the spray chambers by positioning means. The sprayed water is rapidly removed from the spray sections to prevent the formation of a water bath in the spray chambers.

United States Patent Kranenberg et al.

APPARATUS FOR COOLING A STEEL MEMBER WHILE BEING ROLLED ON A CONTINUOUSHOT-ROLLING MILL Inventors: Helmut Kranenberg; Michael Sawitz, both ofBethlehem, Pa.

Assignee: Bethlehem Steel Corporation,

Bethlehem, Pa.

Filed: Nov. 15, 1973 Appl. N0.: 416,310

[52] US. Cl 72/201; 266/65 [51] Int. Cl B2lb 45/02 [58] Field of Search72/200, 201, 202, 236;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,931,912 10/1933 Whitzel U72/201 2,067,514 1/1937 Trinks 1. 72/202 3,036,825 5/1962 Eisenmenger266/4 S 3,671,028 6/1972 Hemsath 266/6 S 3,738,629 6/1973 Coleman 266/6S I ll! 3,766,763 10/1973 Cofer et al 72/201 Primary Examiner-C. W.Lanham Assistant Examiner-E. M. Combs Attorney, Agent, or Firm-loseph J,OKeefe; Charles A. Wilkinson; John S. Simitz 5 7] ABSTRACT A spray unitpositioned between roll stands in the path of a steel workpieceadvancing in a predetermined substantially horizontal pass line in acontinuous hotrolling mill, includes a pair or spaced spray chamberslongitudinally aligned in tandem. The steel workpiece passes through aspray section in each of the spray chambers. As the steel workpiecepasses through the spray sections, water is sprayed by high pressurenozzles onto the entire surface of the steel workpiece to reduce thetemperature thereof. Guard means are provided to prevent damage to thehigh pressure nozzles. The steel workpiece is aligned axially in thespray chambers by positioning means. The sprayed water is rapidlyremoved from the spray sections to prevent the formation of a water bathin the spray chambers.

8 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJUN 17 1975 3.8 89 5O 7 SHEET 3APPARATUS FOR COOLING A STEEL MEMBER WHILE BEING ROLLED ON A CONTINUOUSHOT-ROLLING MILL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention is directedto apparatus for spraying water or other coolant onto the surface of asteel workpiece while the workpiece is being hot-rolled in a continuoushot rolling mill to control the finishing temperature of the steelworkpiece off-the-mill. The apparatus of the invention more particularlycomprises a spray unit having a pair of spray chambers wherein spraymeans are used to spray water onto the surface of the steel workpiece asit passes through said spray chambers.

Steel products, such as bars and rods, are produced by hot rolling steelbillets in a continuous hot-rolling mill, for example, a bar mill, a rodmill or the like. The hot rolled steel generally is finish rolled attemperatures of between about 1,950 to 2,l F. and is then aircooled toambient temperature. During air-cooling a non-uniform, thick, coarse andsometimes blustery scale forms on the surface of the steel and the steeldoes not attain uniform metallurgical characteristics. All prior artprocesses to control the scale formation and to produce steel havinguniform metallurgical characteristics have generally involved apparatusto treat the steel after it has been finish rolled but prior toair-cooling, as exemplified, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,735,966issued May 29, I973 to Bernd Hoffmann and entitled Method for HeatTreating Steel Wire Rod. Hot-rolled rod is passed in accordance with thedisclosure of this patent through alternate quenching and heatcompensating zones to cool the surface temperature of the rod to belowabout 400 C. (752 F.) subsequent to finish rolling and prior to coilingin flat overlapping wraps on a conveyor. The apparatus is comprised ofwater cooling units and air cooling units. The length of the watercooling units becomes shorter and the length of the air cooling unitsbecomes longer in the direction of travel of the finished rod accordingto a logarithmic relationship.

U.S. Pat. No. 1,988,l92 issued Apr. 16, I935 to A. B. Haswell entitledMeans for Guiding and Cooling Rolled Metal is directed to apparatus forguiding and cooling hot-rolled stock such as rounds, squares, strip andsimilar sections as the hot-rolled stock comes from the rolls of arolling mill in a highly heated state. The apparatus comprises waterboxes spaced above and below a passage for the steel. Steel membersclose the sides of the passage. The water-boxes are much larger than thepassage to thereby prevent heating of the cooling water in thewater-boxes. The water is fed into the passage from the water boxes byports provided therein. The amount of water in the passage is sufficientto form a bath through which the steel passes.

Unfortunately, when steel at elevated temperatures comes into contactwith water, a steam blanket forms around the steel. The steam blanketinsulates the steel, preventing contact between water and steel. Thecooling effect of the water is retarded if not altogether blocked.Passing the steel through a water bath is not an effective way to reducethe temperature of the steel.

It is the primary object of this invention to provide apparatuspositioned between roll stands for spraying water onto the entiresurface of a steel workpiece as it is being advanced in a continuoushot-rolling mill.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The apparatus of the invention is a spray unitwhich includes a pair of spaced spray chambers enclosing a portion ofthe pass line in a continuous hot-rolling mill and spray means in saidspray chambers to spray a coolant onto the entire surface of a steelworkpiece being hot-rolled. Guard means mounted on support means in saidspray chambers protects the spray means from contact with the steelworkpiece. Means for positioning the steel workpiece axially in saidspray chambers is provided at the middle portion and exit end of thespray unit. The spray unit is mounted between the roll stands of acontinuous hot-rolling mill.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic plan view ofthe spray apparatus between roll stands in a continuous hot-rollingmill.

FIG. 2 is a view in elevation of the apparatus of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view along 33 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view along 44 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the apparatus shown in FIG.2.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view along 6-6 in FIG. 5 of a control box inthe spray apparatus.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION A steel workpiece which is beinghot-rolled on a continuous hot-rolling mill, such as a bar mill, rodmill and the like, is cooled during hot-rolling by passing the steelworkpiece through at least one spray unit mounted between roll stands inline with the predetermined substantially horizontal pass line definedby the roll passes in the roll stands of the mill. Water is sprayed ontothe entire surface of the steel workpiece to cool the surface of thesteel workpiece during hot rolling. The as-rolled product off-the-millhas an integrated mean temperature of not more than about l,750 F. Adiagrammatic plan view of a continuous hot-rolling mill and auxiliaryequipment with spray units in position between roll stands of the millis shown in FIG. 1.

Turning now to FIG. 1, the steel workpiece is heated to a rollingtemperature within the range of about 1,950 to about 2,100 F. in afurnace 10 generally used for this purpose. The steel member isdischarged from furnace l0 and is hot-rolled to finish size in mill 1]which comprises a roughing train 12 having roll stands l3, l4, 15, 16,l7, l8, l9 and 20; an intermediate train 21 having roll stands 22, 23,24, 25, 26 and 27; finishing train 28 having roll stands 29, 30, 31 and32; a run-out table 33', a coiling station 34 having coilers 35, 36, 37and 38 and a cooling bed 39. A flying shear 40 is provided between theroughing train 12 and intermediate train 21. Repeaters 41 and 42 in theintermediate train 21 and repeater 43 between the intermediate train 21and finishing train 28 are provided to loop the steel workpiece duringhot-rolling. Troughs 44,45, 46 and 47 in the intermediate train 21 andtrough 48 between repeater 43 and the finishing train 28 provide supportfor the steel workpiece as it passes through the mill 11. A flying shear49 after the finishing train 28 cuts the steel to length when required.Spray units 50 amd 51 in the intermediate train 21 and spray units 52and 53 between the intermediate train 21 and finishing train 28 are usedto spray water onto the surface of the steel workpiece as it is beinghot-rolled to control the temperature of the steel workpiece.

In operation, the steel workpiece is passed from the furnace to the mill11 and passes progressively continuously through the roll stands 13, l4,15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 in the roughing train 12. The temperature ofthe steel workpiece is observed by use of radiation-type pyrometer RP1between roll stands 13 and 14. A short portion of the front end of thesteel workpiece is cropped by flying shear 40 as the steel workpiecespasses between roll stand 20 and the first roll stand 22 of theintermediate train 21. The steel workpiece continues through the rollstands 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 and 27 of the intermediate train 21. Rollstands 24 and 25 appear as dummy stands in FIG. 1, that is, there are norolls in the roll stands and hence the steel workpiece is not reduced incross-sectional area as it passes through these stands. However,dependent upon the size of steel workpiece being hot-rolled and thedesired finish size, the stands can be equipped with matches rolls toalso reduce the cross-sectional area of the steel workpiece during itspassage through these stands. The temperature of the steel workpiece istaken by a radiation-type pyrometer, RP-2, as it passes between rollstands 24 and 25. As the steel workpiece passes through the intermediatetrain 21, it is looped l80 by repeaters 41 and 42. Of course, the steelworkpiece can be hotrolled in an in-line continuous hot-rolling millwhich does not require the use of repeaters. As the steel work piecepasses through the intermediate train 21, the steel workpiece passesthrough spray units 50 and 51 located between roll stands 25 and 26.Water is sprayed onto the surface of the steel workpiece as it passesthrough the spray units 50 and 51. The flow of water in each spray unitin the mill is controlled to start after the leading end of the steelworkpiece has passed through the spray unit to prevent hardening of theleading end of the steel workpiece and thereby prevent marring orspalling of the surface of the work rolls in the roll stands which couldoccur as the steel workpiece enters the roll passes in the roll stands.The steel workpiece is supported by trough 44 as it passes between firstspray unit 50 and second spray unit 51. The steel workpiece is looped180 in repeater 41 and is supported by trough 45 as it passes to rollstand 26. Trough 46 supports the steel workpiece as it passes torepeater 42 where the steel workpiece is again looped 180 and is passedto roll stand 27 which is the last roll stand in the intermediate train21. The temperature of the steel workpiece is again taken by a thirdradiation-type pyrometer, RP-3, prior to rolling in roll stand 27. Afterthe steel workpiece passes from the intermediate train 21 it passesthrough spray units 52 and 53 arranged in tandem. The steel workpiece isagain looped 180 in repeater 43, passes through trough 48 and is rolledto a desired finish size in roll stands 29, 30, 31 and 32 of thefinishing train 28. A flying shear 49 after roll stand 32 cuts the steelworkpiece to the desired length. The temperature of the steel workpieceis again taken by a radiation-type pyrometer, RP4, as it leaves the lastroll stand 32 in the finishing train 28. If it is desired to coil thesteel workpiece, it is passed to one of coilers 35, 36, 37, 38 incoiling station 34. If straight bars are being produced, the steelworkpiece is passed to the run-out table 33 and then to cooling bed 39.In either case, the steel workpiece is air-cooled to ambient temperatureafter finish rolling.

We have found that by hot-rolling the steel workpiece as describedabove, the temperature of the surface of the steel workpieceoff-the-mill is controlled to about 1,740 F. for finished bars and rodshaving a diameter of one-half of an inch, and preferably not more thanabout l,700 F. for finished bars and rods having large diameters. Theintegrated mean temperature of the steel workpiece off-the-mill is nothigher than about l.750 F. A steel workpiece hot-rolled in theconventional manner, that is, wherein the steel workpiece is not watersprayed during rolling, has a surface temperature of between about [900and 2,100 F. and an integrated mean temperature of about l,950 F. orhigher.

Since spray units 50, 51, 52 and 53 are identical. we will describe onlyspray unit 50. Referring now to FIG. 2, the spray unit includes a pairof spray chambers 54, 55 aligned longitudinally in tandem in line withthe predetermined substantially horizontal pass line of the steelworkpiece as it passes through the mill. The spray unit 50 has an entryend 56 and an exit end 57. The entire spray unit 50 is supported bystands 58, 59 which can be of any suitable material. such as reinforcedconcrete, steel structural framework and the like. Spray chambers 54 and55 are substantially the same. Therefore only spray chamber 54 will bedescribed in detail. Identical numbers will be used to identifyidentical parts of each spray chamber. Spray chamber 54 has an entry end56, which is also the entry end 56 of the spray unit 50, and an exit end60. The spray chamber 54 comprises a cover 61 shown contiguous with abottom portion 62 as described hereinafter and shoen in FIG. 3. The ends56 and 60 are made watertight by welding metallic plates 56a and 56b,60a and 60b to the cover 61 and bottom portion 62, respectively. Thecover 61 can be pivotally lifted manually from the bottom portion 62 bymeans of handles 63. An elongated water collecting and disposal trough64 is fastened to bottom portion 62 and extends substantially the lengthof the spray unit 50. A plurality of outlet pipes 65 extend downwardlyfrom the bottom of the trough 64 and communicate therewith by means ofports (not shown), which allow the rapid removal of water to waste or tostorage. The cover 61 and bottom portion 62 are provided with aplurality of inlet pipes, 66, 67, and 68, 69 respectively whereby waterunder pressure, for example, about 25 pounds per square inch gage toabout 60 pounds per square inch gage, is pumped therein. Although waterunder a gage pressure of 25 pounds per square inch can be used toadvantage, we prefer to use water having a gage pressure of 35 poundsper square inch. A hell or guide cone assembly 70 comprises a base plate70a integral with a guide cone 70b. The guide cone assembly 70 isattached to the end plate 56b, for example, by bolt and nut assemblies(not shown) and guides the steel workpiece axially into the spraychamber 54. The spray chambers 54 and 55 are spaced a distance apart. Afirst control box 71 is provided in the space between spray chambers 54and 55 to provide means interiorly (hereinafter described) forpositioning; the steel workpiece axially in conjunction with a secondcontrol box 77 in the spray unit 50. The control box 81 has a box-likeexterior housing 72 having end plates 72a and side plates 72b. A controlarm 73 is rotatably attached to a shaft 74. A control handle 730 oncontrol arm 73 provides means to rotate control arm 73 through Asemicircular locking hub 73b positioned between the control arm 73 andside plate 72b provides means for locking a positioning funnel (shown inFIG. 3 and identified as 76) in a desired position interiorly in thecontrol box 71. A guard cone 720 is provided atop the housing 72 toprevent the steel workpiece from passing upwardly and straying from thepass line of the mill when passing from spray chamber 54 to spraychamber 55. A water inlet pipe 72d atop the guard cone 72c allows waterto be passed downwardly through the control box 71 to preventover-heating of the metallic parts interiorly the control box 71. Thecontrol box 71 is secured to end plates 60b and 56b by any means, forexample, welding. Control box 77 is attached by any means, for example,welding, to the end plate 60b.

Turning now to FIG. 3, which is a cross-sectional view of spray chamber54, along line 3-3 in FIG. 2, the cover 61 is an elongated box-likewatertight header, fabricated in the shape shown from two metallicplates 78 and 79. The two metallic plates 78 and 79 are welded togetherto form the watertight structure shown. Water W is pumpled into header61 by means of two inlet pipes 66 and 67. Plate 79 is provided withports (not shown) wherein couplings 80a are fixedly attached. Highpressure nozzles 80 are threaded into the couplings and communicate withthe interior of header 61. The high pressure nozzles 80 spray water in afan-shaped jet. An angle 70 defines the extent of the jet. Thefan-shaped jet defines a substantially steaight line on the surface ofthe steel workpiece which is impinged by the jet. The fan-shaped waterjet is formed by a generally oval opening in each nozzle 80. The nozzles80 in the spray chambers 54, 55 are positioned in the header in a mannersuch that the fanshaped jet is at an angle of 20 to the axis of thesteel workpiece. By positioning the nozzles 80 in this manner thesubstantially straight line impinged on the surface is made wider and alarger surface area of the steel workpiece is impinged by the fan-shapedjet than if the oval opening is positioned parallel to the axis of thesteel workpiece. In the latter position, non-uniform cooling of thesurface of the steel workpiece would occur. Two horizontal lips 78a and78b are formed in plate 78.

A downwardly open yoke 81 is fastened to the header 61 by fasteningmeans, for example, a sleeve and bolt combination 82, extendingdownwardly through two ports (not shown) in the header 61. A pluralityof the yokes 81 spaced a distance apart are provided along the length ofthe chamber 54. A plurality of spaced buard bars 83, generallyrectangular in cross-section, are attached, for example, by welding, toeach of the yokes 81 and extend longitudinally and substantially thelength of the header 61. It must be understood that the yokes 81 can beother geometric shapes, such as a semi-circle, other polygonal shapesand the like. Likewise, the guard bars 83 can be of any shape incrosssection, for example, square, rectangular, triangular, and thelike. The guard bars 83 protect the high pressure nozzles 80 from damageby the passing steel workpiece S particularly in the case of a cobble orby the leading edge (not shown) of the steel workpiece S as it passesthrough the spray chamber 54.

The bottom portion 62 of the spray chamber 54 comprises two elongatedbox-like headers 84 and 85 which are fabricated in the shapes shown andare watertight. The headers 84, 85 are mirror images of each other andare in longitudinally spaced parallel relationship to each other. Thespace between and defined by the headers 84, is an elongated slot 86extending the length of the spray chamber 54. Since the headers 84, 85are mirror images of each other, only header 84 will be described, andsimilar parts of the headers 84, 85 will be identified with the samenumerals. Header 84 is fabricated from two metallic plates 87, 88 in theshape shown. Header 84 can best be described as generally being an openL in shape. The open L is formed by an outer vertical leg 87a and ahorizontal base 87b formed by plate 87 and an inner generally horizontallip 880, a vertical leg 88b perpendicular to the lip 88a, and agenerally sloping lower leg 88c extending from leg 88b to a shortvertical leg 88d. The lip 88a is parallel to base 87b and is welded tothe upper edge of leg 87a. The leg 88d is parallel to leg 87 a and iswelded to the base 87 b to make a watertight container. End plates (notshown) are welded to each end of the header 84 to make a watertightcontainer. The horizontal lip 88a provides a surface 88c which iscontiguous with lip 780 when the cover 61 is placed atop the bottomportion 62 to form a closure through which the steel workpiece S passes.When the cover 61 is closed atop bottom portion 62 a spray section A isformed which encloses a portion of the substantially horizontal passline of the mill. The vertical leg 88b and the sloping leg 880 areprovided with ports (not shown) wherein couplings 800 are fixedlyattached. High pressure nozzles 80 are threaded into the couplings andcommunicate with the interior of the header 84. Water having a gagepressure of betwen about 25 pounds per square inch, but preferably 35pounds per square inch, to 60 pounds per square inch is pumped into theheader 84 through two inlet pipes 68, 69 extending horizontally inwardlythrough ports (not shown) in the vertical leg 870.

An upwardly open yoke 89 having bosses 90 and 91 is fastened by means,for example, bolts 92, to supports 93 and 94 welded to the base 87b andextending upwardly into the bottom portion 62. The yoke 89 can haveother geometric shapes, for example, any type of polygon, circular andthe like. A plurality of elongated spaced guard bars 83 are attached,for example, by welding, to a plurality of yokes 89 spacedlongitudinally in the spray chamber 54. The guard bars 83 extend thelength of the spray chamber 54. While shown as being generallyrectangular, the guard bars 83 can be any shape, for example, square,triangle, and the like.

The collecting and disposal means 64 is an elongated generally U-shapedtrough fabriacated from metallic sheet 95 in the shape shown. The troughis fastened to the spray unit 50 by means, for example, bolt and nutassemblies 96 passing through lips 96a and 96b attached to the bottomportion 62, for example, by welding. Water is discharged from the trough64 through outlet pipe 65 which communicates with the trough 64 througha port (not shown).

A vertically movable positioning funnel (shown in FIG. 5 and identifiedas 76) positions the steel workpiece S axially in the spray unit 50. Thepositioning funnel 76 in conjunction with a second positioning funnel76' (FIG. 5) at the exit end 57 supports the steel workpiece S as itpasses through the spray unit 50. The guide cone assembly 70 in FIG. 2guides the steel workpiece S axially into the spray unit 50 but does notsupport the steel workpiece S as it passes through the mill.

The header 61 (shown in the open position in phantom) is pivotallyattached to the bottom portion 62 by a hinge assembly 98 comprising apair of metallic brackets 98a and 98b which are fastened by suitablemeans to the back walls 610 and 84a of the header 61 and header 84,respectively. Each of the brackets 98a and 98b is provided with a hub98c and 98d, respectively. The hubs 98c and 98d have an aperture 98etherein. When assembled, the hubs 98c and 98d overlap so that theapertures 98c are aligned. A smooth bearing type rod 98f is insertedinto the apertures 98e so as to hold the brackets 98a and 98b togetherin pivoted relationship. Removable L-shaped pins 98g are inserted intopassages 98/1 on either side of the brackets 98a and 98b in the rod 98fto prevent accidental removal of rod 98f. Only one L-shaped pin andaperture are shown.

When the header 61 is contiguous with the bottom portion 62, that is,lips 78a and 78b are contiguous with lips 88, a generally cylindricalspray section A is formed wherein the steel workpiece S passes throughthe spray unit and is sprayed with water. The high pressure nozzles 80form a generally annular configuration and are spaced about 60 apart.

The spray chamber 55 of the spray unit 50 is shown in FIG. 4 which is across-sectional view taken along the line 44 of FIG. 2. The header 61'is fabriacted from metallic plates 99 and 100 to form a header 61' inthe shape shown. Metallic plate 99 is generally U- shaped having ahorizontal base 99a and two downwardly extending legs 99b and 99c.Metallic plate 100 has a horizontal base section 1000, two downwardlyand outwardly extending legs lb and 100a and horizontal arms 100d and100e extending horizontally outwardly from the legs 10012 and 100e,respectively. The extremities of the arms 100d and 100s are welded tothe extremities of the legs 99b and 99c respectively to form awatertight header 61'. A plurality of ports (not shown) are provided inthe base 100a and the legs l00b and l00c wherein couplings 80a arefixedly attached. High pressure nozzles 80' are threaded into thecouplings 80a and communicate with the interior of the header 61. WaterW having a gage pressure of between 25 pounds per square inch, andpreferably 35 pounds per square inch, to about 60 pounds per square inchis pumped into the header 6] by conventional pumping equipment (notshown) through inlet pipes 66' and 67'. The water is sprayed onto thesurface of steel workpiece S passing through spray section A of thespray chamber 55 which is in line with spray section A in spray chamber54. The high pressure nozzles 80' form a similar spray as describedpreviously. The high pressure nozzles 80' are annularly positioned 60'apart. Aligned ports (not shown) are provided in the base 990 and 100awhereby fastening means 101, for example, a sleeve and bolt assembly,are used to support a downwardly open yoke 102 of the shape shown. Aplurality of guard bars 83' are fixedly attached to the yoke 102, forexample by welding. The guard bars 83' prevent damage to the highpressure nozzles 80' by cobbles or from the leading edge of the steelworkpiece S as it passes through the spray chamber 55. As notedpreviously, the shape of the guard bars 83' is generally rectangular,but any shape can bee used.

The bottom portion 62' comprises two headers 103 and 104 fabricated frommetallic plates 105, 106 and 107, 108, respectively, in the shapesshown. Header 103 can be described as having an open elongated L shape.The open L shape is formed by an outer vertical leg 105a and ahorizontal base [05b perpendicular to leg 105a, a short vertical leg105C formed from plate 105 and a horizontal lip 106a, a short verticalleg 106b, a sloping portion 1060 and a horizontal base 106d formed fromplate 106. The extremity of lip 1060 is welded to the upper surface ofleg 105a and the horizontal base 106d is welded to vertical leg 105c toform a watertight closure. End plates (not shown) are welded to each endof the header 103 to form a watertight container. Sloping portion 106Cand horizontal base 106d are provided with ports (not shown) wherebycouplings 800' are fixedly attached. High pressure nozzles 80' arethreaded into the couplings 80a and communicate with the interior of theheader 103. Header 104 is formed by joining two metallic plates 107 and108 which have two generally vertical legs 107a and 1080 and twohorizontal bases l07b and 108b. Vertical leg 1070 has a sloping section1071: provided with a port (not shown) wherein a coupling 80a is fixedlyattached. A high pressure nozzle 80 is threaded into the coupling 80aand communicates with the interior of header 104. Vertical leg 107a iswelded to horizontal base 108b, and horizontal base 107b is welded tovertical leg 108a to form a watertight closure. End plates (not shown)are welded to either end of header 104 to make a watertight container.Water under a gage pressure of 25 pounds per square inch, and preferably35 pounds per square inch, to 60 pounds per square inch is introducedinto header 103 through inlet pipes 68' and 69' and into header 104through inlet pipes 68' and 69'.

An upwardly opening yoke 109 of the shape shown is attached to thebottom portion 62' by fastener means 110, for example, a sleeve and boltassembly, extending through ports (not shown) provided in headers [03and 104, respectively. A plurality of spaced guard bars 83' are fixedlyattached to the yoke 109.

The headers 103 and 104 are spaced a distance apart and form anelongated longitudinal slot 86 whereby the watei" after being sprayedonto the steel workpiece S can freely pass out of the spray section A,formed when header 61' is contiguous with bottom portion 62', to thecollecting and disposal trough 64 which is attached to the bottomportion 62' of the spray unit 50 by fastening means 96' and 96' passingthrough lips 96a and 96b. The water passes from trough 64 to waste bymeans of outlet pipe 65.

The header 6] is pivotally attached to the bottom portion 62' byidentical hinge assembly 98' used in spray chamber 54 and which waspreviously described.

When the header 61' is in the operating position the high pressurenozzles 80' form a generally annular configuration and are spaced about60 apart. The high pressure nozzles 80' are not aligned with the highpressure nozzles 80 in the spray chamber 54 but are rotated about 30therefrom to thereby give a simulated rotation effect to the steelworkpiece S as it passes through the spray unit 50 and to assure thatthe entire surface of the steel workpiece S is sprayed with water. Theuse of two spray chambers in tandem provides a thorough force cooling ofthe entire surface of the workpiece.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the paired spaced spraychambers 54 and 55 longitudinally in tandem of the invention. The spraychamber 54 is provided with a guide cone assemply as previouslydescribed at the entry end 56 of the spray unit 50 to guide the steelworkpiece S axially into the spray section A. The steel workpiece Sproceeds axially through the spray chamber 54 to a first control box 71wherein steel workpiece S is guided axially by positioning funnel 76into spray chamber 55. The steel workpiece S travels axially throughspray chamber 55 and leaves at the exit end 57 of the spray unit 50through a second control box 77. The positioning funnel 76' in thesecond control box 77 guides the steel workpiece S axially out of thespray unit 50 and keeps the steel workpiece S in the substantiallyhorizontal predetermined pass line of the mill. As the steel workpiece Spasses through the spray unit 50, the water is sprayed onto the surfacethereof by means of a plurality of high pressure nozzles 80 and 80'which are in a generally annular configuration as shown in FIGS. 3 and4. The annular configurations are spaced a distance apart and extend thelength of each of the spray chambers 54 and S5. A plurality oflongitudinally extending guard bars 83 and 83' fixedly attached to yokes81, 89 and 102, 109, respectively, to guard the high pressure nozzles 80and 80' from damage which can occur because of cobbles or from contactwith the leading edge of the steel workpiece S as it passes through thespray unit 50. In operation, the nozzles 80 and 80' are not activateduntil the leading edge of the steel workpiece S has passed through thespray unit 50 to thereby prevent hardening of the leading edge of thesteel workpiece. Spraying the leading edge with water would harden theleading edge and damage could occur to the rolls when the leading edgeenters the roll pass between the rolls. The collecting and disposaltrough 64 described previously and shown in cross-section in FIGS. 3 and4 extends substantially the length of the spray unit 50.

The control boxes 71 and 77 are identical. To fully describe the controlboxes 71 and 77 we have shown control box 71 in longitudinal section andcontrol box 77 in a plan view in elevation of the exterior in FIG. 5.Turning now to the control box 77, a control arm 73' is fixedly attachedto a longitudinal shaft 74 extending through the control box 77. Acontrol handle 73a is provided on control arm 73' whereby the controlarm 73' can be rotated about shaft 74' for a distance of 180. A slot 73cis cut in control arm 73. a generally L-shaped lever 73d is pivotallymounted between two parallel ears 73e welded to control arm 73 so as topass through the slot 73c. The lever 73d pivots on a short headed pin73]" which is passed through apertures 73: in the ears 73e. As shown inFIG. 6, a locking pin 73g chained to one of the ears 73e is passedthrough aperture 73k in the lever 73d and apertures 73: in the ears 73eto lock the lever 73d in place in any of the notches N provided in thehub 73b as described below. A generally semicircular hub 73b having aplurality of predetermined radially disposed notches N is mountedbetween the housing 72' of the control box 77 and the control arm 73.The notches N are placed so that when control arm 73' is rotated aboutshaft 74' a positioning funnel 76' interiorly the control box 77 israised or lowered. The lever 73d can be inserted into one of the notchesN to thereby lock the positioning funnel 76' into the proper position sothat the steel workpiece S will be positioned axially in the spray unit50. A coneshaped guard 720 is provided over the control box 77 toprevent the steel workpiece S from passing outwardly from the pass lineof the mill as it passes from chamber 54 to spray chamber 55. A waterinlet pipe 72d allows water to be passed into the control box 77 to coolthe metallic members in the interior of control box 77. The water iscollected in a lower collecting box 77a and is discharged therefromthrough outlet pipe 77b.

Turning now to FIG. 5 which is a longitudinal sectional view of controlbox 71, the positioning funnel 76 has a flared semi-conical guidingportion 760 and a horizontal semicylindrical supporting section 76b, anda downwardly depending leg 76c. The leg 760 has three generally parallelopen slots 76d, 76:: and 76fextending upwardly a predetermined distancefrom the bottom surface 763. The positioning funnel 76 is supported onbolts 76h. The positioning funnel 76 can be moved vertically by cam 74b(shown in FIG. 6 and described below) extending through slot 76e.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of control box 77. The interiormetallic parts include the positioning funnel 76 and a U-shaped bracketassembly 11] extending upwardly on either side of the downwardlydepending leg 76c supported upon and vertically movable by a rotatableshaft 74. The Ushaped bracket has two parallel upwardly extending legs112 welded to a horizontal base member 113. A plurality of support legs114 extend downwardly from the bracket assembly. A pair of outwardlyextending arms 115 perpendicular to the legs 112 aid in aligning thepositioning funnel 76' in the control box 77. Two nut and boltassemblies 116 (one is shown) on either side of shaft 74' extendingthrough the legs 112 and downwardly depending leg 76c, support thepositioning funnel 76'. The U-shaped bracket assembly gives support tothe downwardly depending leg 760' to prevent distortion of the leg 76cduring use. The positioning funnel 76' and bracket assembly 111 arevertically movable as a unit. If maintenance is required, positioningfunnel 76' can be lifted out of the control box 77 without removing anyother part of the apparatus.

The shaft 74' extends through the housing 72' of the control box 77 andis divided into three segments, 74a, 74b and 740. The largest diametersegment 74a provides a bearing surface upon which the shaft can berotated and gives the strength required to prevent early failure of theshaft. The middle segment 74b is a cam by which the positioning funnel76' is positioned. The cam 74b by definition is an eccentric. A circledefined by the outer surface of the cam 74b when it is rotated through360 has the same diameter as the actual diameter of segment 74a.Therefore, the positioning funnel 76', vertically movable on cam 74b,can be raised or lowered a desired distance to position the steelworkpiece S axially in the spray unit 50. Segment 74c has the smallestdiameter of the shaft, The segment 74c provides two bearing surfaces 74dand 74e for the shaft 74' and also aligns the shaft 74' horizontally andperpendicular to the pass line of the mill.

A pair of metallic support plates 116 and 117, which extend interiorlythe length of the control box 77, are welded to the end plates 72a.Apertures 116a and 1170 of appropriate size are provided in plates 116and 117, respectively, to provide bearing surfaces for shaft segments74c and 740, respectively.

Metallic mounting brackets 118a extending perpendicularly outwardly fromthe side plates 72!) of the housing 72 are provided whereby the controlbox 77 can be fastened to the end plate 60b of the spray unit 50 bymeans such as nut and bolt assemblies (not shown) passed through theapertures 118a and mating apertures (not shown) in the end plate 60b.

While we have described the above apparatus being used to control thetemperature of a steel workpiece which is being hot-rolled on acontinuous hotrolling mill, it must be understood that the apparatus canalso be used to control the temperature of a steel workpiece which isbeing prepared by thermomechanical means or by ausforming means or byferritic rolling means.

We claim:

1. In a continuous hot-rolling mill having a plurality of roll standsfor advancing a solid steel workpiece in a predetermined substantiallyhorizontal pass line, the improvement comprising:

a. at least one spray unit comprising a pair of spaced coolant spraychambers, aligned longitudinally in tandem, positioned between two ofsaid roll stands in said mill and surrounding a portion of said passline,

b. a plurality of spray means in each of said spray chambers forspraying water onto the surface of said steel workpiece as said steelworkpiece is advancing along said pass line, and

c. elongated guard means in each of said spray cham bers to guard saidspray means from contact with said steel workpiece said guard means ineach of said spray chambers comprising a plurality of spaced elongatedmetallic bars generally rectangular in cross section extendinglongitudinally substantially the length ofeach of said spray chambers,the space between said guard means providing access for spray water fromsaid spray means to impinge on the surface of said advancing steelworkpiece.

2. The spray unit of claim 1 wherein said spray means in each of saidspray chambers are arranged in linear rows and the rows of said spraymeans in one of said spray chambers are rotated a predetermined distanceabout the pass line of the apparatus from the line of said spray meansin said other spray chamber.

3. The spray unit of claim 1 wherein said spray means in each of saidspray chambers comprise a plurality of high pressure nozzles in annularconfiguration; a plurality of said annular configurations being spaced adistance apart longitudinally substantially the length of each of saidspray chambers, said high pressure nozzles defining a spray sectionsurrounding a portion of said pass line in said mill.

4. The spray unit of claim 1 wherein a first control means is insertedbetween said pair of spaced spray chambers to position said advancingsteel workpiece in a continuous generally horizontal line when it passesfrom one spray chamber to the other spray chamber and a second controlmeans is provided at said exit end of said spray unit to guide saidadvancing steel workpiece in said pass line.

5. The spray unit of claim 1 wherein each of said pair of spray chamberscomprises a cover, contiguous with a bottom portion and partiallyattached to said bottom portion, and said cover being pivotallyremovable verti cally from said bottom portion to expose the interior ofsaid spray chamber.

6. The spray unit of claim 5 wherein the cover of each of said spraychambers is a fabricated elongated box-like header wherein water under agage pressure of about 25 pounds per square inch to about 60 pounds persquare inch can be held prior to spraying onto said surface of saidadvancing steel workpiece.

7. The spray unit of claim 4 wherein the control means is a control boxcomprising a metallic cone like cover provided with a water inlet toprevent said ad vancing steel workpiece from leaving said pass line ofsaid mill, a semi-cylindrical funnel-like positioning member having adownwardly extending arm provided with a plurality of downwardly openslots, and a pair of pins mounted on said arm wherein two of said slotsare supported in a manner so as to restrict horizontal movement of saidguide member but to allow vertical movement thereof, the other of saidopen slots resting on a cam of a shaft extending through said controlmeans and being supported on a bearing member, said shaft being attachedto a control arm provided with a central handle whereby said control armcan be rotated to rotate said cam through a distance of when saidcontrol arm is raised to a predetermined position to raise or lower saidpositioning member to position said steel workpiece in said spraychamber.

8. Apparatus for spraying water onto the surface of a steel workpieceadvancing along a predetermined substantially horizontal pass line in acontinuous hotrolling mill, to control the temperature of said steelworkpiece and produce a product off-the-mill which has an integratedmean temperature of not more than 1,750 E, comprising:

a. a spray unit, having an entry end, a center portion and exit end,positioned to encircle a portion of the pass line, said spray unitcomprising:

1. a pair of spaced spray chambers arranged longi tudinally in tandem,each of said spray chambers having a cover contiguous with and partiallyattached to a bottom portion,

2. spray means inside of each of said covers and said bottom portions inan annular configuration spaced longitudinally the length of each of thespray chambers,

3. transverse support means spaced the length of said spray chambers,

4. guard means fastened to said support means and extendinglongitudinally the length of said spray chambers,

b. a water collecting and disposal means attached to the bottom of saidspray unit, and

c. positioning means at the center section and exit end of said sprayunit whereby said steel workpiece is aligned for passage axially throughsaid spray units.

PATENT NO.

DATED INVENTOR(S) I Col.

Col.

Col.

Col

Col.

It is certrfred Ural error appears In the ab0ve-|dentifred patent andthat said Lelters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

2, Abstract, line 4, "or" should read --of-.

l of Background line 22, "blustery" should read -blister"- l, line lineline

line

line

line

line

[SEAL] Helmut Kranenberg et a1.

"a generally" should read --A generally-.

UNITED STATES m'n'ar T, OFFICE CERTRFICATE OI" CORR .ECTION June 17,1975 "shoen" should read --shown--.

"81" should read --7l-.

"betwen" should read --between.

"fabriacted" should read -fabricated--.

"80a" should read --80a'.

"bee" should read -be--.

"assemply" should read --assembly.

(Capital A) Signed and Scaled this sixteenth D3) Of September1975 Attesr:

RUTH C. MASON ilresting Officer

1. In a continuous hot-rolling mill having a plurality of roll standsfor advancing a solid steel workpiece in a predetermined substantiallyhorizontal pass line, the improvement comprising: a. at least one sprayunit comprising a pair of spaced coolant spray chambers, alignedlongitudinally in tandem, positioned between two of said roll stands insaid mill and surrounding a portion of said pass line, b. a plurality ofspray means in each of said spray chambers for spraying water onto thesurface of said steel workpiece as said steel workpiece is advancingalong said pass line, and c. elongated guard means in each of said spraychambers to guard said spray means from contact with said steelworkpiece said guard means in each of said spray chambers comprising aplurality of spaced elongated metallic bars generally rectangular incross seCtion extending longitudinally substantially the length of eachof said spray chambers, the space between said guard means providingaccess for spray water from said spray means to impinge on the surfaceof said advancing steel workpiece.
 2. The spray unit of claim 1 whereinsaid spray means in each of said spray chambers are arranged in linearrows and the rows of said spray means in one of said spray chambers arerotated a predetermined distance about the pass line of the apparatusfrom the line of said spray means in said other spray chamber.
 2. spraymeans inside of each of said covers and said bottom portions in anannular configuration spaced longitudinally the length of each of thespray chambers,
 3. The spray unit of claim 1 wherein said spray means ineach of said spray chambers comprise a plurality of high pressurenozzles in annular configuration; a plurality of said annularconfigurations being spaced a distance apart longitudinallysubstantially the length of each of said spray chambers, said highpressure nozzles defining a spray section surrounding a portion of saidpass line in said mill.
 3. transverse support means spaced the length ofsaid spray chambers,
 4. The spray unit of claim 1 wherein a firstcontrol means is inserted between said pair of spaced spray chambers toposition said advancing steel workpiece in a continuous generallyhorizontal line when it passes from one spray chamber to the other spraychamber and a second control means is provided at said exit end of saidspray unit to guide said advancing steel workpiece in said pass line. 4.guard means fastened to said support means and extending longitudinallythe length of said spray chambers, b. a water collecting and disposalmeans attached to the bottom of said spray unit, and c. positioningmeans at the center section and exit end of said spray unit whereby saidsteel workpiece is aligned for passage axially through said spray units.5. The spray unit of claim 1 wherein each of said pair of spray chamberscomprises a cover, contiguous with a bottom portion and partiallyattached to said bottom portion, and said cover being pivotallyremovable vertically from said bottom portion to expose the interior ofsaid spray chamber.
 6. The spray unit of claim 5 wherein the cover ofeach of said spray chambers is a fabricated elongated box-like headerwherein water under a gage pressure of about 25 pounds per square inchto about 60 pounds per square inch can be held prior to spraying ontosaid surface of said advancing steel workpiece.
 7. The spray unit ofclaim 4 wherein the control means is a control box comprising a metalliccone-like cover provided with a water inlet to prevent said advancingsteel workpiece from leaving said pass line of said mill, asemi-cylindrical funnel-like positioning member having a downwardlyextending arm provided with a plurality of downwardly open slots, and apair of pins mounted on said arm wherein two of said slots are supportedin a manner so as to restrict horizontal movement of said guide memberbut to allow vertical movement thereof, the other of said open slotsresting on a cam of a shaft extending through said control means andbeing supported on a bearing member, said shaft being attached to acontrol arm provided with a central handle whereby said control arm canbe rotated to rotate said cam through a distance of 180* when saidcontrol arm is raised to a predetermined position to raise or lower saidpositioning member to position said steel workpiece in said spraychamber.
 8. Apparatus for spraying water onto the surface of a steelworkpiece advancing along a predetermined substantially horizontal passline in a continuous hot-rolling mill, to control the temperature ofsaid steel workpiece and produce a product off-the-mill which has anintegrated mean temperature of not more than 1,750* F., comprising: a. aspray unit, having an entry end, a center portion and exit end,positioned to encircle a portion of the pass line, said spray unitcomprising: